Monday, July 13, 2015

Why Sherlock Holmes?

Blurb: When Elise Clayworth disappears from a hotel room in Paris, Holmes and
Watson work against a seeming dearth of clues: no ransom has been
demanded, no one has seen or heard anything, and there appears to be no
way out of the hotel without being seen. Only a small bit of masonry in
Miss Clayworth's room can shed light on what happened to her. Can Holmes
deduce the lady's whereabouts before it is too late?

To celebrate this new release, Sherlock Holmes & The Mystery of the Last Line is FREE through Wednesday! M writes fantastic mysteries and her Sherlock stories are told in the traditional style. Here's a little about why she writes these tales.

Why Sherlock Holmes?

My History with Holmes

So
the one question I get asked most often is why I write Sherlock
Holmes stories. Or, really, what I get told most often is that I must
write them because they sell. Right?

I’ll
admit I’m fortunate that Holmes has a readership. But I’d write
these stories even if he didn’t. I’ve loved Sherlock Holmes since
I was a girl and was always just a little sorry there weren’t more
of Doyle’s stories. Of course, where Doyle left off many took up
the slack.

But
I didn’t start with Doyle. Even though my dad is a great lover of
Holmes himself and his library extensive, my first real introduction
with the Great Detective was through the 1985 film Young
Sherlock Holmes. I
was nine, and the adventure spoke to me. Plus, I fell hopelessly in
love with Nicholas Rowe. To this day my ideal man is tall and thin,
with messy hair and a British accent.

I
would come home from school every day and pop Young
Sherlock Holmes
into the VCR, letting it run while I sat at the coffee table and did
my homework. And I’m not exaggerating. I mean everyday.
My best friend and I would play Holmes and Watson, too. (Today we
have matching bracelets; mine says “Sherlock” and hers says
“Watson.”)

Around
the same time, my dad capitalized on my interest and introduced me to
the Jeremy Brett series, and I got absorbed enough to finally go and
read the big collected works Dad kept on his bookshelf. I used to
flip through his Sherlock
Holmes Scrapbook,
too. Then I moved on to Nicholas Meyers’ novels and eventually
would browse the second-hand bookstore for any odd Sherlockiana. The
result has been an eclectic collection.

Finally,
in 1999 I began applying to grad school, which meant having to send
writing samples. One was a research paper on the portrayal of
villains in television via their bad habits (think Cigarette Man from
X-Files
as a premium example), and the other was a Sherlock Holmes story
titled “The Mystery of the Last Line.” That story is now
available on Amazon (free today through Wednesday!) along with
another Holmes story I’ve written called “The Adventure of
Ichabod Reed.”

And
now, after many emails from readers asking for more, I’ve written
another Holmes story titled “The Monumental Horror.” It can be
pre-ordered and releases on Tuesday, July 14th.

By
the way, I did get into grad school. Though I’ll never know if
“Last Line” is what won them over. Maybe it was the Cigarette Man
thing.

Click, Read, Enjoy.

About Me

I'm a writer, blogger, and geek mom. I write paranormal romance and urban fantasy. I love a dark and gritty story. I have four degrees which don't help at all with motherhood, but make me a great Jeopardy player. Member of S.C.I.F.I. and Untethered Realms.